Quote Originally Posted by Burney View Post
Of course they're not. It's virtually impossible to record all the deaths accurately at the moment. Not least because you have the question of 'dying with' and 'dying of', which are being far too easily confused at the moment. And different countries are recording slightly differently (or in some cases just flat-out lying). Equally, countries with low population densities are being compared on infection rates with ones with high population density. It's impossible to get an accurate picture as things stand.

The brutal truth is this, though: this thing is going to go through the global population. We have no choice about that. All that can be controlled is the rate of spread and thus the rate of deaths. Whether we like it or not, we're either going to get herd immunity through contracting it or (much less likely in the short term) by a vaccine. That means that mortality rates for those who contract it when this is all over are likely to be similar everywhere - just over different periods and mitigated only by factors of better and more available treatment.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing, mind. We’ve got far too many people and too many of them are old. Something that thins out the alter kackers might be helpful in the long run.

Granted, this theory may not be so appealing to those egotists who fear the blessed release of death.